Truck body



d 6601" 6-145 Parker, c772, BY

y 1943 G. w. PARKER, JR 2,318,794

TRUCK BODY Original Filed Dec. 1, 1938 8 Sheets-Sheet l I INVENTOR:

A TTORNEYS.

y 11, e. W. PARKER, J'R 2,318,794

TRUCK BODY ox 'iginal Filed Dec. 1, 1938 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 A? .H Z: v F 5 v INVENTOR: George IAZParZger, J1". BY

9 W1 TNESSES;

,fiwwww 458 A TTORNE YS.

ay 11, 1943. .6, w. PARKER, JR

TRUCK BODY 1, 1.938 8 Sheets-Sheet Z5 INVENTOR: Gearge 146 Parker, J11,

Original Filed Dec.

ATTORNEYS.

, e. w. PARKER, JR 2,318,794

TRUCK BODY Original Filed Dee. 1. 193a a Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR: George I JZParKer, J22,

BY WW ATTORNEYS.

May 1943- a. w. PARKER, JR 2,318,794

TRUCK BODY Original Filed Dec. 1, 1938 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 LINVL'N'I'OR: Geo/"ye W. Parker, J72

BY MW .4 TTORNEYS.

y 1943- 1 w. PARKER, JR 2,318,794

TRUCK BODY 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Original Filed Dec. 1, 193a May 11, 1.943. I e. w. PARKER, JR ,3 TRUCK BODY Original Filed Dec. 1, 1938 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 f WITNESSES; N G w vvmjxgoa-J M eorge ar er z' MW I By J A TTORNE YS.

Patented May 11, 1943 to Specialty Engineering Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Original application December 1,1938,- Serial No.

Divided and this application October 24, 1940, Serial No.- 362,510

8 Claims. (Cl. 296-3) This invention relates to bodies useful in connection with commercial vehicles, and has ref-- erence more especially to truck bodies of the rack type with multiple recesses or cells for cases of bottled commodities which are accessible for convenience of ready loading and unloading fromopposite sides of the vehicle, this application being a division of a co-pending application Serial No. 243,327 filed by me on December 1, 1938 now Patent No. 2,222,986, dated Nov. 26, 1940.

The present invention is concerned with improvements by which truck bodies of the kind referred to are adapted for carriage in addition to great numbers of bottle cases, of one or more coolers such as are commonly used in retail establishments where beverages are sold or dispensed, its chief aim being to afford a structurehavingthe foregoing attributes, which, while being light in weight, is nevertheless strong and sturdy for capacity to resist distortion incidenttotravel of the vehicle over rough roads, and which can be economically produced from sheet metal.

Other objects and attendant advantages will appear from the following detailed description of the attached drawings, wherein Fig. I is a view partly in side elevation and partly in longitudi-- nal section, of a truck body constructed in accordance with my invention, and having a com partment for coolers at one side thereof at the rear.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view showing the ele vation of the compartment side of the body-L Figs. 3 and 4 are cross sectional views taken as respectively indicated by the angled arrows IIIIII and IV-IV in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken as indicated by the angled arrows VV in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section taken as indicated'by the arrows- VI-VI in Fig. 4.

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of an outboard bracket extension provided on the truck body'of Figs. 5 and 6 for supporting a foot of the cooler.

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view'taken as indi body wherein the floor of the cooler compartment is depressed relative to the floor of the body.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary perspective view of the truck body shown in Figs. 11 and 12.

Fig. 14. is a plan section taken as indicated by the angled arrows XIV-XIV in Fig. 12.

Fig. 15 is a cross section taken as indicated by the angled arrows XV-XV in Fig. 12; and

Figs- 16,. 1'7, and 18 are fragmentary views in longitudinal section taken as indicated by the arrows XV I-XVI, XVII-XVII, XVIII-XVIII in Figs. 14' and. 15.v

With reference first to' Figs. 1-8 of these illustrations, my improved truck body is constructed wholly of sheet metal and comprises a pair of laterally'spaced sills l which are of Z cross section and oppositely arranged. with their lower flanges directed inwardly toward each other, see Figs. 3

and 4 more particularly. The body also includes uprights 2' of channel section which are arranged in equi-spaced' relation along opposite sides of the body with their bottom ends resting on the lower-flanges of the sills l, and with their backs bearing against the vertical flanges of said sills. The uprights 2' are p'erman'entlysecured to the sills I, preferably by welding along the mutually contacting surfaces. tical'i'ntervals; transverse pairsof the uprights 2 are conn'ected' by cross members 3' which are of invert U cross section and which have laterallyprojecting flanges 4. All the cross members 3 are apertured for passage through them of the uprights 2 as best shown in Fig. 5; and here again welding is preferably're'sorted to to connect said cross membersto saiduprights at the regions and to their endsare'connected side rails 6 and the uprights 2', and rest upon the fiat' ledges of the lowermost side rails 'I' and the lateral flanges of' the" corresponding lowermostcros's members 3'- which latter rest directly upon the sillrails l wheretothey are also welded. Thet'ruck body is als'o provided witha roof composed of similar sheets ll formed along corresponding side edges At uniformly-spaced verwith box beads which fit down over the tops of the uprights 2 and to the outer edges of which the top side rails shown at are secured. From Fig. 1, it will be further noted that the endmost cross members 3 are devoid of lateral flanges at their outer sides to which latter are secured front and rear end walls l2 and I3 of sheet material. Due to the aforedescribed arrangement of the uprights 2 and cross members 3, there is defined a plurality of transversely extending subdivisions which are accessible from the sides of the body for insertion and withdrawal of bottle cases such as shown at C in Fig. 1. In the lower subdivisions, the bottle cases C rest upon the floor plates Ill and are held against displacement by the upstanding portions of the cross members 3 and the beads of the lower-most sid rails I; while those in the other subdivisions rest on the lateral flanges of corresponding cross members 3 and are in turn held against displacement by the beads of the side rails 6.

As shown in Figs. 1, 4, 5 and 6, a compartment I 5 is provided at the rear of the body at one side for reception and carriage of a refrigerating cooler R of the type ordinarily used in establishments where bottled beverages are sold or dispensed. In this construction, one or more uprights or posts 2 are omitted at the compartment side of the body, and the intermediate side rails, 6m terminated at intermediate cross members 3m which are supported by the uprights designated 2m. The cross members designated 3n, it will be noted from Figs. 4 and 5, terminate in the longitudinal median plane of the body and are there supported by a supplemental upright or post l6 whereof the bottom end is secured to a short supplemental center sill H supported by beams l8 and I9 which extends crosswise between the main sills I, I. For the purposes of greater rigidity, the auxiliary upright l6 and the corresponding regular upright at 212 are made wider than the other uprights as are also the corresponding cross members 3n. This is also the case with the uprights 2m and the corresponding cross members 3m, which latter, except for the lowermost one, are devoid of lateral flanges at one side. The rear end wall l3 of the truck body also serves as the outer end wall of the compartment IS, the inner side wall and the back wall of said compartment being formed by sheets 20 and 2|. As shown, the sheet 20 is bolted to the cross members 3m, while the sheet 2| is bolted top and bottom to longitudinal angle bars 22, 23 of which the former is secured to certain of the roof sheets I I, and the latter to the supplemental sill H, see Fig. 4. At intermediate points the wall sheet 2| is secured to angle bars 22m carried by the inner ends of the short cross members 311.. The inner edge of they sheet 2|, see Figs. 4 and 5, is bolted to a laterally bent flange 25 at the inner edge of the sheet 2|,

The floor sheet 26 for the compartment is supported by the supplemental sill I l, and by the regular sill I and the lower side rail 1 at the compartment side of the body, as well as by a beam 21 bridged between said regular sill and side rail. Adjacent each of its opposite long edges, the compartment floo'r sheet 26 is provided with a pair of upstanding parallel ridges 28, the intervals between these ribs constituting grooves or tracks 29 for the feet F of the refrigerating coolers R, R It of different sizes and capacities which may be carried in the body,

ee Fig. 4. Secured within the grooves 29 near transverse beam 53 whichis Su ported at oneend the inner ends of the latter are lugs 30 which, see Fig. 5, serve as stops for the corresponding pairs of feet F of the coolers to keep them away from the wall 2|. For the purpose of preventing shifting of the coolers, in the body during transit, a hold down clamp 3|, see Fig. 4 has been provided. As shown, the clamp 3| comprises a clamp bar 32 for bridging adjacent slats 5 in the bottoms of the coolers, said bar being swingable about a spindle 33 whereof the lower end is threaded and selectively engageable with nuts 34, 34:21 which are welded fast to the under side of the floor 26 of the compartment and which are so spaced that the first serves for coolers R, R of the small and intermediate sizes, and the second for the cooler R of the largest size. At the top, the clamp spindle 33 has .a crosswise manipulating handle bar 35, and at an intermediate point a collar 36 which is adapted to bear down upon the clamp bar. For the support of the feet F at the projecting end of the largest cooler R the body is provided, see Fig. 4, with outboard extension brackets 3'! in line with the grooves 29, one of these brackets being illustrated in detail in Figs. 7 and 8. As shown, each bracket 31 includes a bracing component 38 of sheet metal which abuts the vertical face of apron 8 of the lower side rail 1 at the compartment side of the truck body, and a horizontal foot supporting component 39, likewise of sheet metal, which is welded to the top of the component 38 and which overhangs the latter so as to rest on the top of said side rail 1. The component 39 has upstanding side and end flanges 40, 4| and 42, 43 respectively with resultant formation of a recessed retaining seat or socket for the foot of the cooler, the outer end flange 43 being rounded as shown to facilitate sliding of the cooler foot thereover incident to loading and unloading. Pendant from the overhanging portion of the component 39 is a pair of studs 45 which engage holes in the top of the side rail 1. The vertical web of the component 38 is pierced for passage of a securing screw bolt 46. At the region of each of the brackets 31, the side rail I is reinforced by a backing angle 41 the flanges of which are penetrated by the studs 45 as well as by the securing bolts 46.

The alternative form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10 is generally of the same construction as the form of Figs. 1-6, except in that here the compartment 50 extends from side to side of the truck body, thereby making it possible to carry two refrigerating coolers side by side, for example, one of the large type coolers R and one of the smaller ones of the type R. In this modification, hold-down clamps 5| like those of the first described form of my invention are provided to hold the individual coolers against shifting during transit. In Figs. 9 and ID, the component parts of the clamps 5| have been identifiedwith the same reference charactersunload the coolers. -As'shown in Fig. 13, the main sill It at the compartment sideof the body is shorter than the other main sill and abuts a by said main sill I, and at the opposite end by the. lowermost side rail It also at the compartment side of the body. At its top, the beam 56 is welded or otherwise secured to the main sill It as well as to one of the lowermost cross vmembers designated 3a which latter extends all the way across the body. Along its lower edge, the bear 56 has a laterally-projecting flange 51 on which rest the front ends of a pair of Z section sub-sills 58, 59, the first sub-sill being in line with the regular sill It, and the second is positioned in the vertical median plane of the truck body. Rising from the sub-sill 58 is a supplemental upright 55. Also rising from the sub-sill 59 in the interval between the supplemental upright 5| and the crossbeam 55 are supplemental uprights 52,- 53 which are in spaced transverse planes with corresponding supplemental uprights 3t, 51!, upstanding from the main sill I. The cross members 3t, 3a, which correspond to the uprights 2r, 2d, terminate at the uprights 62, 53. Supported by a drop channel bracket 55, at the end of the main sill l is a short sub-sill 66 of 2 section; and extending crosswise between said subsill (i5 and the end of the sub-sill 58 is a beam 5'5 of 2 section whereof the lower flange supports the end of the intermediate sub-sill 59. The portion of the lower side rail it at the compartment side of the truck body is depressed as at 58 rearwardly of the beam 55 to the level of the sub-sills 5B, 59. Resting on and secured to the tops respectively of sub-sills 58, 59 as well as to the depressed end portion 58 of the side rail it is an inverted U section cross member 89 with a lateral flange H3 at its inner side, which, with the tops of the parts 58, 55 and 68, support the floor sheet 55 of the compartment. At their inner ends, the cross members 3t, 3u rest on a longitudinal angle bar 12, which is secured to the cross beam 55 and to the uprights BI, 52, 53; and closing the space between the sub-sill 59 and said angle bar i2 is a sheet 13 which forms the inner wall of the compartment. At the side opposite the cross web 55, the compartment is defined by the front wall of a utility compartment 15 which rests on the portion of the sub-sills 58, 66 rearward of the supplemental uprights 50, BI and on a transversely aligned angle section upright, such as the one at 1'5, rising from the lowermost side rails l and It.

If desired, the cooler compartment of the truck body featured in Figs. 11-14 may be made to extend from side to side of said body, by resorting to simple changes which will be readily understood upon reference to Fig. 13.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A truck body for delivery vehicles comprising a pair of laterally-spaced main sills whereof one extends rearwardly beyond the other; uprights arranged at corresponding intervals along the sills within the length of the shorter sill; cross members secured to transversely-aligned pairs of the uprights at different levels, said cross members extending beyond the uprights at opposite sides of the body and providing ledges for supporting, between uprights, cases containing beverage bottles; upper and lower side rails corresponding in length to the longer sill and connecting the ends of the upper and lowermost cross members, the portion of the lowermost rail at one side of the truck rearward of the shorter main sill being depressed; a cross beam abutted by the short main sill and bridged between the long main sill and the depressed end portion of the longer main sill; a sub-sill in line with the short main sill extending rearward from the cross beam; at second sub-sill intermediate the main sill, said second sub-sill extending rearward from the cross beam and being supported at its rear end from a cross member bridged between the end of the first mentioned sub-sill and a short sub-sill suspended from the end of the long main sill; transversely-aligned supplemental uprights rising respectively from the end of the depressed portion of the lowermost side rails aforesaid'and the ends of the first and second sub-sills, with resultant formation of a compartment at the rear of the body at one side for the reception of refrigerating coolers such as are used in retail establishments where the bottled beverages are sold; a floor for the compartment supported by the depressed portion of the aforementioned lower side rail and the two first-mentioned sub.- sills; other transversely-aligned supplemental intermediate uprights arranged at corresponding intervals along the long main rail and the second sub-sill rearward of the cross beam; andshort supplemental cross members secured to said other supplemental uprights terminating at their inner ends at the supplemental uprights rising from said second sub-sill. Y

2. A truck body for delivery vehicles compris--, ing a pair of laterally spaced main sills; uprights arranged at substantially uniform intervals along the full length of one of the sills; similar uprights arranged at corresponding intervals along a pore tion of the other main sill but omitted at another portion of the latter to provide a void for, the purposes of a relativelylarge auxiliary compartment at that side of the body; a supplemental sill intermediate the main sills along the region of omission of the uprights of the second mentioned. $111 and supported by a cross member extending between the main sills; supplemental uprights arranged along the supplemental sill at intervals to correspond with the additional uprights along the first mentioned sill; full width cross members secured at different levels to transversely aligned pairs of uprights along the main sills at opposite sides of the body, and short supplemental cross members connecting the aforesaid additional uprights along the first mentioned main sill and the corresponding supplemental uprights at corresponding levels, said cross members being all provided with lateral ledges for supporting commodity cases or packages between adjacent uprights; and a floor for the compartment supported by the second mentioned main sill and the supplemental main sill.

3. A truck body according to claim 2, wherein the main cross members extend between the uprights along opposite sides of the truck and the short cross members extend to a corresponding distance beyond the first mentioned main sill; and wherein the ends of the cross members at corresponding levels are connected by side rails which extend longitudinally of the body.

4. A truck body for delivery vehicles comprising a pair of laterally spaced main sills whereof one extends rearwardly beyond the other; uprights arranged at corresponding intervals along the sills within the length of the shorter sill; cross members secured to transversely aligned pairs of the uprights at difierent levels and providing ledges for supporting individual cases or packages between adjacent uprights; a relative-' ly deep cross beam bridged between the end of the short main sill and the long main sill; a supplemental sub-sill in line with the short main sill extending rearward from the cross beam at tal uprights rising respectively from the ends of Y the first and second sub-sills with resultant for ages; a floor for the compartment supported by the two sub-sills; other transversely aligned supplemental intermediate uprights arranged at 'corresponding intervals along the long main sill and the intermediate sub-sill rearward of the cross beam; and short supplemental cross members secured to said other supplemental uprights terminating at their inner ends at the supplemental uprights which rise from said intermediate sub-sill.

5. A truck body according to claim 2, wherein the main cross members extend between the uprights along opposite sides of the truck and the short cross members extend to a corresponding distance beyond the first mentioned main sill; and wherein the ends of the cross members at corresponding levels are connected by side rails which extend longitudinally of the body, except for the side rails intermediate the upper and lowermost ones which are interrupted at one side of the body for convenience of access to the compartment.

6. A truck body for delivery vehicles comprising a pair of laterally-spaced sills; uprights arsills, said second or interme-' ranged at corresponding intervals along the sills, said uprights being uniformly spaced except at one point at least at one side of the body to set apart a relatively wider full height space for the purposes of a comparatively large transverse compartment; cross members secured at different levels to transversely-aligned pairs of the uprights and projecting therebyond at opposite sides of the body with the lowermost of said uprights resting on the sills; upper and lower longitudinals connecting the ends of the upper and lowermost cross members; and intermediate longitudinals connecting the ends of the intermediate cross members except at said compartment.

7. A truck body according to claim 6, in which the cross members are provided with lateral ledges for supporting commodity cases or packages between adjacent uprights except the uppermost and intermediate cross members at opposite sides of the compartment which are devoid of lateral projections within said compartment.

8. A truck body according to claim 6, in which the cross members are provided with lateral ledges for supporting commodity cases or packages between adjacent uprights except the uppermost and intermediate cross members at opposite sides of the compartment which are devoid of lateral projections within said compartment; in which a roof sheet for the compartment is supported by the uprights at opposite sides of said compartment; in which side wall sheets are attached to the cross members within the compartment; and in which a floor sheet is supported within the compartment jointly by the sills, the lowermost cross members and the lowermost end longitudinals.

GEORGE W. PARKER, JR. 

